Alpha and Omega Holiday Shorts
by DogDrawler
Summary: Latest Story: Celebrating Patriot Day to those we have lost as requested by Lonewolf131.
1. Daria's Present

Daria's Present by DogDrawler **(written from December 23rd to ****December 24th, 2014****)**

"Runt! Please come inside!" ordered Mom. "The guests will be arriving soon."

"But Mom look at this view. The dawn looks pretty this mourning." I continued to look at the beautiful pink sky, sitting on the outcropping of our den. Behind me, I heard Mom sigh.

"You're just like your father."

"Did somebody mention me?" asked Dad who approached the den with my siblings next to him. Kate ran to him in a hurry.

"You invited the guests, right?"

"Don't worry Kate, I got them all," he said proudly.

"Oh, thank goodness honey. For a second, I thought you screwed something up. You even got Daria too?"

"Uhh... I will go get her now..."

"*sigh* I spoke too soon... I can't believe you forgot our most important guest! You know she hasn't been to a Christmas feast before. I wanna make sure we give her the best experience ever! Now hurry. They'll be here any minute!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down Kate. I'll go get her."

"Can I come?" I asked looking for an excuse to be away from the boring 'ol den. Also to see Daria again. It's been awhile since we saw each other. Time flies fast for pups.

"Of course you can," Dad agreed, smiling. I could always count on him.

"Alright! Go!" Mom was getting worked up. Beware sign.

We both started running to Daria's den that we assigned her when she was welcomed to the Western Region. No long later, I noticed Stinky and Claudette were following us. I slowed down my stride to get some answers.

"Stinky? Claudette? What are you doing?"

"We're comin' with you," Claudette informed. Stinky nodded.

"You wanna see Daria too, do you?" I asked.

"It's been awhile," he said.

"I know. She's warmed up to us."

"Not to mention bringing us fresh kill with her superb hearing and smell," Stinky added.

**Later...**

"Hi Daria. How's life in the West," said Dad, sitting down at the mouth of her den that was located at the base of the mountain. She instinctively looked towards us, showing her teeth with her wide smile. She seemed relieved to have heard us.

"Great. Very great. I never knew pack life was the best life." She then turned to me. I missed her a lot, especially those two green cloudy eyes of hers.

"Runt? Is that you?"

"How did you know?"

"Your scent is really strong."

"Probably because he hasn't been bathing in forever," said my sister.

"I do bathe... every moon cycle or so..." I'd hate to admit it but we kings of the forests must send a strong message to those who threaten us. Though Dad wasn't so proud.

"First of all, son, gross. Second of all, we'll talk about it later with your mother."

"What brings you to my den?" asked Daria.

"Oh, right! We're having a Christmas feast! Kate wants to invite you."

"A feast? Why Humphrey, that would be lovely! Just umm... what exactly is Christmas? Floyd told me it was just a celebration in the winter shared by most animals and humans around the world."

"Well, uhh... I don't have much time to explain. My mate really wants me to come back."

"Oh... okay."

"We can talk about on the way."

**On the way...**

"So let me get this straight," Daria said. "What is the true meaning of Christmas?"

"So far what we've learned from humans is that it's better to give than to recieve," Stinky informed. "But there could possibly be more of a deeper meaning that we wolves don't know or don't understand yet. Overall, though the meaning could just decide on the perception of one's own self."

"Did you celebrate at all?" I asked, worried that maybe throughout her whole life, she hasn't felt even the slightest glimmer of the Christmas spirit.

"Well, when I was a little pup, a small family lived in the Shadow Forest unaware of me for a short time. Lois and Frieda kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't get close to me. Then during winter, they saw the family celebrating. They told me they saw the family's only pup give a perfectly white bone to his parents. So perfect in fact, it even looked appealing to the porcupines." I couldn't help but drool. "So you know what they did? They stole it and gave it to me for Christmas! "

"At least they were trying to be nice," said Claudette.

"True but I simply couldn't accept it. It belonged to that pup's parents. I demanded them to put it back in which they did thankfully."

"What happened to the family now?" Stinky asked. "As far as Winston knows, it's still completely wolf-free."

"They mysteriously disappeared not long after the incident. I have no idea how."

"Strange..."

"Yes, but even more strange, Floyd found the bone all by itself nowhere near their den, looking pale white with no marks on it at all like it had always been. It's a puzzling mystery. He took it to me where I kept it safe in my protected den. I didn't dare to eat it because if it was as pale white and smooth as the porcupines described, it wasn't worth eating it yet. They had provided me with enough food anyway. Though sometimes, I wish I could finally eat it after all these years. Oh, how luscious would it taste? Tangy? Salty? Sweet? Bitter?" She was beginning to creep me out as she went off topic. Fortunately, she shook her head out of it. "But I digress. Sorry. So... that's basically my first Christmas. How was yours?"

"Awesome!" I yelled.

"I wouldn't exactly say that," said Dad. "We were attacked by King and his Rogues."

"Correct," said Stinky, "but we showed 'em who's the boss in the Regions. I doubt they'll ever come back here again."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Plus, we spent a night inside a cozy truck stop."

"A truck stop?" Daria looked amazed.

"They could've gotten themselves killed," Dad added.

"But we didn't so it was awesome!"

**Near the peak of the mountain...**

After getting Daria to slowly cross the log bridge to the peak, we managed to get home... just not in the time Mom preferred...

"What took so long?" she questioned.

"Don't look at me," said Dad. "Her den is at the base of the mountain."

"*sigh* Just forget it. Half of the guests are here and finally you get Daria..."

"Kate... just calm down. Everything's going to be alright. As your Omega mate, I must relieve any tension going on inside you." As Dad massaged Mom, I headed to the cliff edge where I stared at the dawn. It wasn't there anymore. In the background, I could hear the guests talking in the cave. Grandpa Winston, Gramdma Eve, and a couple of my mom's friends: Hutch and Can-do were all talking about the holidays, specifically of what they were going to give their friends or to each other whether it be a pawful of flowers or a special bone. Wait... A bone? That gives me an idea!

Just as Daria was welcomed by the other guests, my siblings sat next to me on both sides. Perfect. I had to them something.

"Stinky! Claudette! I just thought of an idea! If it is better to give than receive then I know what we can do for Daria!"

"And what might that be?" said Claudette, seeming skeptical.

"The bone, of course!"

"You want to get that perfect bone for Daria for Christmas? Genius bro!"

"I know! She hasn't really been given anything before. I wanna be the first."

"But what a minute, she didn't tell us where the bone was," said Stinky.

"Well, she did say when Floyd found it, she kept it in her den. It could be still there. Maybe she accidentally left it when we took her in."

"Something doesn't add up..." Usually, when Stinky starts overthinking, it's because he's doubtful. I could see where this was going.

"Please tell me you're not still afraid of Shadow Forest."

"We're not!" they exclaimed in unison. I should've known.

"We're just... concerned for your safety," said Claudette.

"Hm, it's a good thing I never listen." I started to go. They followed, lagging behind me. We snuck around Kate and headed down the mountain. Stinky and Claudette were whispering to each other the whole way. Some of the sentences I could hear.

"_I don't like it Claudette. It seems odd that Daria didn't tell us where the bone was._"

"_Maybe it was for a reason. Maybe she didn't tell us everything about the bone. And maybe that reason is really why she didn't eat it._"

I'm pretty sure they're just overreacting. She probably just forgot to tell us where it was.

**In Daria's old den at****Shadow** **Forest****...**

Sure enough, the bone was actually here. It was in the farthest corner of the cave covered in cobwebs and dust. It obviously hasn't been touched or moved from that spot in a long time. Interesting enough...

"Now that we've seen it, I think we should-"

"No!" I interrupted Claudette. "I'm gonna help Daria whether you two like or not. I can't believe you guys don't want to." It was so unlike them that it was unbelievable.

"It's not that Runt..."

"Whatever." I moved the bone in front of me and blew off the dust. Not one mark, scratch, or anything on the surface. I licked off any remaining debris and spat it out. The surface... so smooth... it was nearly unbearable to look away. And unbearable to not...

Stinky and Claudette had to stop me. I chewed on that thing obsessively so much, they took the bone away from me. I couldn't help it.

"Okay, this thing isn't really safe," Stinky admitted. "I was afraid of this." I wasn't fully convinced. Sure this bone can stimulate the urge to chew it excessively but I don't see that as a reason not to use it as a gift. Besides, if Daria could control it and not eat it for all those years, it's safe for her at least.

"Come on, guys. I can't give her nothing. She'd hate me."

"You could tell the truth," Claudette suggested. I laughed

"Ha, good one. But this is no time for jokes."

"Why don't you just give her a pawful of flowers?" asked Stinky.

"No! Everybody uses that as an excuse. I want to give her something special because she is special."

"But Runt, they give bones as excuses too."

"But this particular bone is different in many ways. One would be it's her old Christmas present that never got used."

"...Runt... please..."

"I don't have time. I'm done arguing," I declared. I grabbed the bone in my mouth and ran out. I ran real fast so my siblings wouldn't catch up easily and put doubts in my mind. I don't need them. Nothing's going to go between me and Daria.

**Near the peak of the mountain...**

Before crossing the log bridge, that urge came back to haunt me. Stinky and Claudette weren't with me right now to stop me so I didn't know what I was going to do. Though just a few bites wouldn't hurt... I laid down and gnawed on the bone. It still hadn't begun to splinter. Amazing!

Then as I was gnawing, a couple of interesting thoughts went through my head. The first was what Stinky theorized that there's a reason why Daria didn't tell the bone's whereabouts nor eat it when she had all the time in the world. The second was new. I starting believing that maybe this bone is the reason why that family in the Shadow Forest disappeared. And possibly that's the real reason why Daria didn't eat it. Maybe she was scared to... especially since she was a blind pup at the time. I thought about what made the family disappear. Was it fighting over the thing in my mouth? I imagined the horror out of it. It was enough for my to drop the bone. I immediately snapped, picking it back up and throwing over the cliff down the mountain slope.

At the same time, I smelled my siblings coming close. They must've seen it.

"What made you do that?" Claudette asked.

"You both were right. That bone is cursed. I guess I should've figured that since it came out of Shadow Forest."

"You did good little bro," thanked Stinky who sighed in relief. I began to cry.

"Now what will I bring Daria? *sniff* I guess I'll to go get some flowers from the garden. *sniff*"

"It's okay Runt. I think it's best you go to her and tell the truth; that you didn't get her anything."

"*sniff* You're right. I'll go." I wiped away my tears and walked to our den where I could hear chatter and laughter among the adults. I stepped in. Mom and Dad were happy to see me as were the guests. A big pile of meat was in the center of the den while wolves were gathered around it in a great oval.

"How's it going kid?" asked Dad's friend, Shakey from the back.

"Good," I answered quietly. "I uhh... was playing 'keep away' with my siblings." I tried to keep myself from looking sad. I went straight to Daria who sat not far from the entrance next to Garth. She sensed my close presence.

"Yes, Runt?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but I don't have any present for you for Christmas." There was a quick frown and a deep silence from her. I felt awful to say that. We were best friends.

"Oh, Runt..." she replied. I looked down to the floor in shame.

"If you hate me, I understand."

"Hate you? Runt, I love you." I looked back up at her face. "It's okay if you don't have a present for me." She leaned in for a whisper. "_To be honest, I didn't want one anyway._" I was astonished. "Why, you may wonder? Because my greatest wish has already been granted."

"What wish is that?" I asked

"To have a home again... and _you_ are the one who fulfilled it. But I thank you greatly for trying... It's the thought that counts..." She then winked. She knew...

**Later...**

After the feast ended, I came to the edge of the outcropping and stared at the beautiful dusk. It's rings of pink and purple intertwined in the mixture of clouds and sky, hugging around an unrecognizable sun falling down behind the sierra in the distance. As my two sibling sat on both sides of me, I began to ponder... I think I have just found the true meaning of Christmas... I turned around to see Daria next to the den. We both smiled. We were all looking at the dusk.

**The End**

* * *

**(The next story I write is Claudette's Ex-boyfriend next month. Goodbye as I'll be heading to ****Los Angeles**** for a few weeks.)**


	2. The Colorful Fires

The Colorful Fires by DogDrawler **(written from July 1st, 2015 to July 3rd, 2015)**

"Dad?"

"Yes, Runt?"

"Have you ever wondered what those bright sparkly lights are in the night sky that happen to only show up every year on the same exact date which is tomorrow night?"

"Bright sparkly lights?"

"Yeah. Sometimes when I'm in the trees helping my siblings train, I can see it in the distance."

"I think I know what you're talking about, son. What it is is not some crazy phenomena, but something the humans like to do this time of year."

"Humans? So that explains why it's in the direction of the ranger cabins. What is it that they're doing if they make so much noise?" he asked.

"No one knows because nobody goes over there, but Winston once told me not long after I was born that an owl friend of his who was nocturnal told him that all she knew was that there are always hundreds of humans in the ranger area during the event and that the humans call the bright sparkly lights, 'fireworks'."

"Fireworks! That sounds dangerous! They play with fire?!"

"Like I said, no one knows."

"I wanna know! I wanna go over there."

"Nuh-uh. No. You're still a pup. Besides, the humans are unpredictable. Why do you think they took us to Sawtooth?" Runt stepped down from the hill that overlooked the canopy. His father followed.

"You know if wasn't for the humans, I wouldn't be here if you know what I mean."

"I guess that's true... but still. You should never be near them."

"I know. I know. I hear you father."

"Good. Now let's head home. Your mother most be worried about us."

**Later...**

Both Runt and Humphrey entered the den after their stroll in the forest. Both of them were tired and wanted to rest. Kate and Eve greeted them at the mouth of the cave.

"There you boys are. I was wondering what was taking so long," said Kate. Humphrey gave her a kiss as he went in.

"Well, we had a longer-then-expected chat."

"About what?" asked Eve as she hugged Runt.

"Nothing," answered Runt.

"It was about safety," his father corrected. "We talked over the dangers of wandering out unsupervised and why Rogues are still a problem."

"Let me guess, bro. You wanted to go somewhere?" said Claudette, laying down.

"It's just the ranger cabin area I want to visit."

"Sure! I'm up for adventure!"

"Why not!" said Stinky.

"No one's going anywhere!" ordered Kate. "That place is too dangerous... and too far... You might get lost." All of the pups knew that their parents were just trying to be their parents but they couldn't succumb to their inner adventure spirits just wanting to explore what was over there, beyond the world of the wolves and into another where structures are made by hand not by paw.

**That night...**

With their parents and other relatives asleep, Runt was determined to find out what was so mysterious about that place. He wanted to learn more about it in hopes that it'll explain the exploding lights.

He couldn't do this alone, so he woke up his siblings who were asleep beside him.

"_Wake up! Wake up!_" he whispered.

"_Runt... What is it? It's late at night._"

"_A couple more minutes_," said Stinky, trying to go back to his dream.

"_No! Guys. We need to find out what is over there!_"

"_Why? Our parents said it was dangerous_," Claudette reminded.

"_How could it be dangerous? They barely know anything about._"

"_That is a good point._" Stinky looked at his sister.

"_But bro. What about the humans?! What if one of them happens to have one of those things that shoot out fire like one of them did when Kate and Humphrey were trying to get back home at the gas station._"

"_Think about it, Claudette," said Runt. "Dad said that this time of year, there are always hundreds of people in that one area. Why would one of them be carrying something like that in a crowd? If it were to fire, it would surely hurt others_."

"_What are you trying to say_?"

"_I'm trying to say that maybe the humans didn't bring something like that because the risks of hurting their own were too great. Besides, if they're so smart, they would know that we are peaceful and don't mean any harm_."

"_And what if you're wrong_?" asked Stinky.

"_I'll tell you what, the first time any of us sees a weapon like that, we will make a run for it. Deal_?" After a couple of minutes of thinking about it. They both agreed. Runt promised that they would be back by dawn.

Sneaking past all of the snoring bodies, they all came outside. Claudette and Stinky then followed Runt as he was the only one who knew the way towards the mysterious area.

Coming closer, they noticed the trees becoming sparser and sparser; the grass becoming less and less full of weeds, almost like someone was taking them out. Eventually, it was clear that the trees were being trimmed at their base and that the grass was being trimmed at the top, making them low to their ground.

Claudette pointed out a structure in the distance; a human structure. It was made of large stones and the trunks of trees stacked on each other in an arrangement of ways. It almost as tall as the trees. The pups had never seen anything like it; the elements of the Earth put into this complex and intricate way, giving the pups a moment of awe and amazement on a scale never previously seen in their lifetimes.

They walked around it, noticing a small ray of light that came from something on the front wall beside a closed opening, probably used to get inside the structure.

"Wow..."

"Okay, we've seen enough. Let's go now before..."

"Wait! What's that?!" Runt interrupted Stinky. Many yards away there was a small spot surrounded by huge boulders. Before he tripped, Runt saw that was a black skinny worm-like thing connecting the ring of boulders to the big structure with the light on it. Sniffing it, they followed the black thing until it seemed to go in between the boulders.

"Come on! Let's dig under," the runt encouraged. They dug under the boulders until each pup came to the other side one by one where they found sand on the ground. The black skinny thing then broke into many brown even skinnier things and all went into a number of different objects that sat in the center of the ring of boulders and was covered in a thick covering of sorts.

"What are these things?" Claudette questioned. The objects had all different colors and sizes and a large number of written language all over them. A few characteristics, though were consistent. All of them were different cylindrical sizes with something holding them erect, pointing up in the sky and had a hole at the top that was filled with things. These objects all stood on the sand in rows of twenty with some of those rows isolated in special spots.

As Claudette was about to sniff inside one of the larger cylindrical objects, a couple of familiar wolves started talking.

"Runt! Claudette! Stinky! What are you three doing here!" Their parents showed up coming from under the place where the pups had dug their hole and their faces were not happy.

The pups gave no reply.

"_Pups! I thought I told you not to come here. Don't any of you listen_?" said Humphrey, whispering. He sighed afterwards.

"_Look, pups_," said Kate. "_We don't want to lose any you. This is why you gotta listen to our warnings!_"

"But Mom! We can handle ourselves!" Runt replied. "We aren't little anymore. We want to find things on our own."

"_You may not be as defenseless as a newborn, but you still are vulnerable. The world can be a dark place. And we want wolves like you, especially our own offspring to learn to avoid this. We don't know how humans behave, and it's this uncertainty that scares us_," their father remarked.

"Dad, if I understand correctly," said Stinky, "if we adventure into the unknown, then some of the uncertainty can become clear which would help it not be so scary."

"Enough! C'mon pups! We're going home!" ordered Kate. "This isn't some adventure. This is life or death. Next time I'm gonna have to have somebody specialized in watching you guys."

"But Mom! I want to find out about the bright sparkly lights!" yelled Runt.

"NOW!" she growled, about to leave through the hole.

Suddenly, there was a loud creaking sound coming from the big structure with the light on it. All of them froze in fear. It was followed by footsteps in the grass coming closer and closer.

"_Hide!_" Humphrey insisted to everyone. They all took cover in the dark shadows of the big boulders away from the moonlight.

**Yards away...**

A twenty-seven-year-old man with a T-shirt and a cap that had the Canadian national flag on it was walking towards the ring of boulders, unaware of the animals that had gotten into it. Being on his smartphone earlier, he had been told to test one of the special fireworks to make sure the recent downpour two days ago hadn't made them inert. A tarp was over them to keep them dry for the firework show tomorrow, but it was old and had many small holes.

He walked to the firework box as it was called, following the fuse that was covered in a black covering, climbing the ladder that went up and over the boulders which protected the surrounding the area from sparks flinging outwards and to the fireworks, standing right in front of the wolves without knowing it whatsoever.

The wolves watched him as he took part of the tarp off to reach one of the major fireworks, temporarily removing part of the small fuse with the brown covering, leaving only a small fuse like a single firework, take out all but one shell to test, and lit a match he had in his pocket

When he was about to test the firework and make a run for it, he discovered a new reason to run.

"Ah! Wolves!" he screamed, accidentally dropping the match onto the big main fuse that had the covering off where the flame quickly began to head up to every single last of the fireworks. Ignoring the dangers of the wolves, he dashed up the ladder and jumped off from the boulders, landing on his knees and rolling a bit.

At the same time, all of the wolves came squealing out through the hole the pups dug. Only seconds after that, all of the fireworks exploded into the air with many different colors, styles, and sequences doing their share simultaneously as the man began recording the scene with his camera phone, sitting down in the grass, ironically laughing from the whole incident.

"Well... Hashtag: Happy Canada Day..."

**Later...**

The wolves had raced home. The parents were furious, but the pups, especially Runt was awestruck by the bright sparkly lights being so close and detailed behind them.

Runt was pondering all the way home._ Maybe there was something about humans that was special to make these beautiful things that only appeared one night every single year. An event had to be happening if Dad said many humans usually come to it when it comes on, one of great importance, origin, and purpose. _This only made the pups even more curious to explore the world as it held on to weird interesting things just waiting to be known...

* * *

**(Happy Canada Day to Canadians and Independence Day to Americans! :) FYI this is set before my story, Daria's Present but after the Great Games.)**


	3. The Man

The Man by DogDrawler **(written on September 10th, 2015)**

"_*pant!* Shoot! That was close!_" whispered Humphrey. His youngest son crawled up next to him.

"_What is it?_" asked Runt. The look in his face made his father answer.

"_It's him..._"

"_Oh, no..._"

The man finally woke from the wolves dragged him to. He tried to stand, but he only made sounds of pain. Behind a nearby tree, Humphrey and his son quickly hid from sight. They had dragged him here... from an explosion that happened many miles away. They were planning to bring him to the nearest body of water, but they never expecting him to wake up so early.

"_Don't say a word or move a muscle,_" ordered Humphrey as he heard the man try to step up. He knew the human had very bloody legs and might take his time.

A couple of minutes later, he managed and scanned the area, eventually spotting the explosion. It was his bush plane. A previous snowstorm has iced his wings to the point where he could no longer open his shutters to turn around. He thought he could make it with his friend; both who were experts in flying. They never thought the ice would have the better of them.

Unanticipatedly, there was thud. In front of the man, Runt fell from his position behind the tree and into open space. The man quickly ran away, wanting to get away from the animals. He ran towards the smoke near the mountains where they crashed landed. He wanted to find his friend... who was also his wife.

"Where is he going?" asked the runt.

"I think to find his friend."

"Why didn't we take her too?"

"Because... well..."

"Well, we need to tell him!" Runt followed the human who was limping with determination.

"Runt! Get back here now! We don't go near humans!"

"Dad! We need to help him!"

"Why? What have humans done to us?"

"They're the reason you guys fell in love. It's the least we could do!" Humphrey began trailing his son who was running far ahead.

"It's too dangerous! A fire is brewing there!"

"Dad! We must warn him then."

"Hmm... okay, but we must hurry."

**Later...**

Upon finding the crash site, the man immediately began searching the area for his wife. There was fire everywhere. Ash covering his face after awhile. Soon, he became frantic, looking through destroyed belongings and the debris from the plane, not even thinking of the fire itself spreading to the surrounding area and potentially trapping him.

Then, he found something as Humphrey and Runt made it to him. There was burial. On top of it was a burning picture of his wife. Runt looked at his father. Humphrey had did it. He knew she was dead before the man woke up. He didn't want to tell Runt yet.

The man sat down next to a huge fragment of the plane and started crying. For a long time he became unaware of the wolves who sat next to him as his arm covering his eyes.

"_What now?_" said Runt.

"_Shhhh..._" Humphrey wanted the pup to give a moment of silence. "_Even for humans, death is unsettling. And we must be respectful._"

While sobbing and letting his heart fade, the man was thinking. Death is both expecting and unexpecting at the same time. In times of great tragedy, we aim to seek revenge on something we or someone else did. But that is not a proper response. Tragedy reminds us the vulnerabilities we have carried. And it's best we stick together and learn from it. Sometimes, people make mistakes. And we must create the light to guide the future generations to not do the same, yet remember those who did.

They stayed with him until he realized he was right next to them. He then took the burning picture and ran off, never to be seen again. Leaving the site which was about to be engulfed with flames, Humphrey and Runt watched at he went into the sunset, his limping turning into a perfect walk.

"What about the wreck? She we tell Mom! She's gonna be so surprised once we tell we encountered a human!"

"Yes. He should be remembered. Let this be a lesson to you, Runt. Remember the ones who sacrifice for our protection, even the ones you may have never heard of... "

* * *

**(Celebrating Patriot Day, I honor those who we have lost in the attacks as a lesson in this short story that we should remember them.)**


End file.
